The proposed bill would amend current statutes regarding the reporting requirements for law enforcement agencies (LEAs) when they receive reports of missing or kidnapped children. Under the new law, the terminology would be updated to focus solely on "missing or kidnapped" children, removing references to "runaway" children. Additionally, LEAs would be required to submit identifying information to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) instead of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The bill mandates that LEAs provide a recent photograph of the child within two hours of receiving the report and make reasonable efforts to obtain this photograph. Furthermore, within 24 hours, LEAs must disseminate detailed information about the child and potential abductor to local media and social media platforms.

The bill also introduces new training requirements for LEAs, mandating that they develop and implement training criteria regarding the notification and reporting requirements for missing children. This training must be comprehensive and conducted biannually for all employees involved in missing children cases, including supervisors and dispatchers. The current requirement for LEAs to notify NCMEC when a missing child is in the foster care system would be removed, and the bill would make various technical and conforming changes to the existing statutes.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 8-901